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October 27, 2009

Saturday I treated myself and took the train into Boston for the first ever Boston Book Festival. What a great event. I hope there will be many more which follow.

I found out about the festival from the excellent folks at Grub Street, who also sponsored several of the sessions.

Despite a shaky weather forecast, thousands of people were in attendance. I grabbed a quick lunch, then headed over to one of the main venues, the amazing Boston Public Library. I headed for the Abbey Room, soon to be the site for a session called "Guided Open Mic."

On the way, this is what I saw:

The Abbey Room is in the old part of the library, just across from the outdoor portion of the festival. I headed out the door and stepped across Dartmouth Street (closed off for the day) and over to the booths of the festival. Even with the threat of rain, one tent housed the festival stage and a variety of muscians, mostly from the local Berklee School of Music. For a few minutes, I watched an artist named Liz Longley, who sang original songs, played keyboards and was backed by a tight quartet.

The Fall colors flourished despite the rain, as seen in the following photo I took near the music tent.

Time to head back to the library. Along the way, I spotted this very cool banner advertising the festivities.

Back at the Abbey Room, I signed up for the "Guided Open Mic" session. Our host was the very energetic Hank Phillipi Ryan, who is a TV news journalist on Boston Channel 7 and moonlights as a writer of 3 published novels in the thriller genre. The event premise was simple. Writers were invited to read a 3 minute excerpt from their work. Earlier in the day, I printed out the beginning of a story I'd written earlier this year called "Fifth Season." Hank offered started the session by offering us her tips on reading in public. Most of it boiled down to "practice, practice, practice", though she also suggested we be very careful in choosing our selection and read the excerpt in a way which will keep listeners engaged.

I thought the session worked very well. It quickly became clear that good writing alone was not enough to carry the day in a reading, but several writers got the attention of the audience and held it. After each reading, Hank offered a quick constructive critique on what worked and what needed improvement. I got a chance to read my excerpt about 15 minutes into the event. I speak a lot at conferences, but definitely had a few butterflies when it came to reading from my own work in front of an audience. Afterwards, Hank suggested I needed to be more careful in choosing my microphone position in order to be able to look out and engage the audience. The early part of the story that I read mainly introduces the characters; she suggested the excerpt needed to have more happening. And more does happen -- later in story.

The event continued for over an hour and lots of writers got a chance to read their work. I felt I learned a lot from this and feel I'll be better prepared the next time I do a reading.

Later that day, I attended another writer event, this one called "Writer Idol." I'll write about that in my next post.

October 13, 2009

Fall in New England is one of my favorite seasons. I've lived in New England most of my life, but never tire of the variety this season brings to us.

Yesterday, I rode with a business colleague through New Hampshire and Vermont. It was Columbus Day, sometimes celebrated as a holiday in the United States, and often touted as a great weekend for viewing foliage. Well, in most years, you won't see much but bare trees in Northern New England by the time that weekend rolls around. Happily, this year is an exception. We had copious amounts of rain in the Spring and enough during the summer so that the foliage this year is rich in colors of gold, harvest brown, and pumpkin orange, and many shades in between. Smoke from wood fireplaces drifts in the air, stirring ancient urges to gather around the warmth. As the temperature drops, we develop a taste for hearty meals such as stews, curries, and ragouts, washed down by mugs of hot cider, cocoa and pints of auburn ale.

Frost warnings permeate the weather forecasts, but often the days are still warm enough to enjoy our favorite outdoor activities, be it tossing a football, riding a bike, hiking a trail or walking with your pet.

For a writer, autumn presents backgrounds that tickle the senses, but the season also works as a metaphor for the passing of years and the progression toward mortality. I've included scenes of Fall in my novels and the nip in the air, variegated colors of leafy canopies and harvest aromas can transport the reader directly to that destination, bringing it alive.

As a reader, how to you react to seasons in writing? Do authors draw you in with the vivid descriptions of the change that Autumn or Winter brings? Or is there a hidden terror in these periodic changes of life and its rhythms?

If you are a writer or another type of artist, how important are the seasons in your work? Do they inspire you? Do they transport your characters to new realizations or spiritual yearnings? Let's talk about the seasons and how they affect your art.